In our Drink of the Week segment, we’ll showcase one unique type of beer, wine, cocktail — you name it — to try at one of the countless breweries, bars and restaurants from around the basin.

The whiskey sour is about a classic a cocktail as you can get — it’s also one of my absolute favorites. Over the years, I’ve had plenty of variations on this drink, but never quite one like Sage Leaf has cooked up. I have to tell you, their iteration falls pretty high on my list of whiskey sours — and for good reason. 

As with any sour, your main culprits doing the heavy lifting are whiskey and lemon juice. That’s about where the standard train stops and the fun hops aboard. Joining the two ingredients are maple syrup, orange juice, toasted cinnamon powder (pulling double duty as their French Toast spice as well), egg white, and Angostura bitters. They all get a go-round in the shaker and then are garnished with an orange peel twist and a flame-thrown cinnamon stick. 

While I can drink a sour any time of year, this version definitely bookends a winter season quite nicely. I think it’s those comfy notes of maple, cinnamon and citrus that is pulling the cold weather heartstrings, but regardless of that, the drink goes down as smooth as silk on a shoe shine. 

The sweetness in this drink is mid-level. It’s nicely sweetened but not overly sweet. Similarly, the maple-y flavor doesn’t go over the top – it more compliments the whiskey flavor (although still somewhat muted) and doesn’t let any one flavor explode, but rather creates a harmony amongst all the ingredients. 

The smoothness from the egg white is something I will always be a fan of. The creaminess it lends here is the perfect compliment to help tone down the citrus. If you know the après feeling of sitting around a fire pit with good friends after a day at the slopes, this drink is that feeling in liquid form. Who doesn’t want more of that in their life? 

Sage Leaf is located at 893 Tahoe Blvd. Ste. 600 in Incline Village. For menu, hours of operation and additional information visit them online at sageleaftahoe.com or reach them by phone at 775-413-5005.